Our Daily Routine Keeping Khaki Campbell Ducks on the Farm, Plus How We Trained Them to Go to Bed!

Watch along to see my daily routine for our small flock of Khaki Campbell ducks…🦆🦆🦆
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Ducks are pretty simple to take care of. They’re hardier than chickens, and can handle all sorts of weather extremes. They’re less noisy than chickens, and in some breeds can be more prolific layers of large, rich and creamy eggs—my favorites for baking and breakfast.
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Our very basic, budget coop was made out of scrap lumber, cattle panel fencing, and chicken wire, to create a hoop-style house that sits on a thick layer of gravel for drainage. I use pine-pellet horse stall bedding to build up deep litter, which keeps their water thawed during the winter by partially burying the rubber bowl down into the composting bedding. Even though one side of the coop is open wire, their drinking water stays thawed year round.
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One of the biggest downsides to keeping ducks versus chickens is their lack of instinct to go home to roost at night. Lots of people are left chasing their ducks toward the coop in the evenings, or providing them with a large pond that still doesn’t protect against owls and certain other predators.
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The upside is that you can train your ducks to go to bed! They’re food-motivated just like most other animals. When my ducklings first moved into their new coop, I kept them confined to it for 3 days—always bringing food at night. Once I started releasing them each day, I began to remove their uneaten pellets in the morning to encourage them to seek out other sources of food during the day. Each evening, to get them to return, they learned to recognize me filling their bowl with fresh pellets, and they now come running! This makes it so that I can safely lock them away without a fuss.
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@purinafeedgreatness was so kind to have #sponsored this video for #CheckerboardHappiness , and their Duck Feed Pellets are perfect for feeding your web-footed flock. I feed it to my ducklings from day 1 to ensure proper niacin in their diet, but it’s designed for adults, too! Just be sure to supplement a calcium source for laying birds.
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Do you have questions about keeping ducks? Leave them below! 🦆💕
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Learn more about our farm at WingandWool.com